Earlier this month Ubisoft surprised gamers and critics everywhere when it revealed a new game titled Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Of the numerous leaks and rumors surrounding the company, this particular title seemed to have been overlooked. Despite not exactly being what some gamers were looking for, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown appears to be taking the same route as the latest Assassin's Creed games.
The announcement trailer for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown came during the 2023 Summer Game Fest. Sadly the game was not the long-delayed remake of The Sands of Time and was clearly taking the franchise in a new direction. More of the game was revealed during the Ubisoft Forward event and has taken the form of a 2D platform game. What's odd about it is that it appears to be following in the footsteps of the latest Assassin's Creed games in their use of mythological creatures and figures.
Prince of Persia's Use of Myths and Monsters
To be clear, the franchise has never exactly been a grounded one. The Prince of Persia games were full of parkour, and time travel, and had the prince battling all kinds of bizarre sand zombie creatures. For the most part, the antagonists in the games were mostly humanoid-looking enemies. The main exception to this was the Dahaka from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within which served as the game's principal antagonist. This new game, however, seems more interested in having players take on a different variety of enemies.
While the first trailer for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has been flooded with dislikes, there is a degree of creativity on display. The first trailer for the game showed off numerous different monsters that the player would have to battle in addition to humanoid antagonists. Furthermore, additional gameplay footage was shown during the Ubisoft Forward event that showed the main character fighting even more monsters and rubbing shoulders with gods and other figures trapped in this new world. This, oddly enough, puts it on the same path as another Ubisoft property.
Assassin's Creed's Use of Myths and Monsters
Currently, the Assassin's Creed franchise is trying to get back to its roots with its latest installment going back to the Medieval period but the relationship between it and the Prince of Persia series has always been odd. The first Assassin's Creed was originally a Prince of Persia project that was retooled into something different when they realized the concept was better suited for a new IP. For the most part, though, the games remained fairly grounded and true to historical events. That was until Assassin's Creed: Origins was released.
For the most part, Origins stuck to the historical aspects of the setting save for a few odd dream sequences. Assassin's Creed Odyssey leaned into the mythology aspect hard and was full of the franchise's versions of the various mythical creatures. Assassin's Creed Valhalla had players battling Odin and rubbing shoulders with the game's versions of the Norse Gods. It's an overall massive leap from the more grounded beginnings of the first series entries. Now it appears that the Prince of Persia games will be going in this direction as well.
Ultimately, it's impossible to say whether this move will be a good thing for it. The remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time seems to have slipped into development hell, and it is possible that resources intended to go to the remake were shifted to The Lost Crown instead. What can be said is that the game will feature a new variety of enemies that range from humanoid to gargantuan, and whether this new game can breathe new life into the long-dormant franchise remains to be seen.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown launches on January 18, 2024, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
